Dataset Information

Addressing the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: learning from a systematic review of early interventions for frontline responders.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Protecting healthcare workers from psychological harm is an urgent clinical issue within the current COVID-19 pandemic. Research on early psychological programmes that aim to prevent or reduce mental health symptoms and that have been tested in frontline responders may assist service providers with choosing a suitable intervention for rapid dissemination in healthcare settings.

Design and outcome measures

First, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched through a systematic literature review of early psychological interventions administered to frontline responders in the last 15 years. Interventions were included if they were designed to prevent or reduce psychological impact and had outcome measures of psychological distress (eg, general psychopathology, post-traumatic stress disorder and stress) and/or positive mental health domains (eg, resilience, self-efficacy and life satisfaction). Second, the suitability of these programmes for the healthcare workforce was evaluated according to the criteria of effectiveness, content applicability and feasibility.

Results

Of 320 articles retrieved, 12 relevant studies were included that described six early psychological interventions. Although the evidence base is limited, psychological first aid, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, and trauma risk management showed effectiveness across at least two studies each with frontline workers. Resilience and coping for the healthcare community; anticipate, plan, and deter; and resilience at work programmes found promising results in single studies. Concerning other suitability criteria, all programmes appear applicable to healthcare settings and have acceptable feasibility for rapid implementation.

Conclusions

Despite the limited evidence, several interventions were identified as potentially suitable and useful for improving psychological functioning of healthcare workers across a variety of disaster situations. Service providers should continue to implement and evaluate early psychological interventions in frontline workers in order to refine best practices for managing the psychological impact of future disasters.

SUBMITTER: Hooper JJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8142676 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Addressing the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: learning from a systematic review of early interventions for frontline responders.

Hooper Jasmine Jean JJ Saulsman Lisa L Hall Tammy T Waters Flavie F

BMJ open 20210521 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>Protecting healthcare workers from psychological harm is an urgent clinical issue within the current COVID-19 pandemic. Research on early psychological programmes that aim to prevent or reduce mental health symptoms and that have been tested in frontline responders may assist service providers with choosing a suitable intervention for rapid dissemination in healthcare settings.<h4>Design and outcome measures</h4>First, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were s ...[more]

PMID: 34020974

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Project description:ObjectiveTo identify COVID-19 work-related stressors and experiences associated with sleep difficulties in HCW, and to assess the role of depression and traumatic stress in this association.MethodsA cross-sectional study of HCW using self-report questionnaires, during the first peak of the pandemic in Israel (April 2020), conducted in a large tertiary medical center in Israel. Study population included 189 physicians and nurses working in designated COVID-19 wards and a comparison group of 643 HCW. Mean age of the total sample was 41.7 ± 11.1, 67% were female, 42.1% physicians, with overall mean number of years of professional experience 14.2 ± 20. The exposure was working in COVID-19 wards and related specific stressors and negative experiences. Primary outcome measurement was the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Secondary outcomes included the Primary Care-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen (PC-PTSD-5); the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression; the anxiety module of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS); Pandemic-Related Stress Factors (PRSF) and witnessing patient suffering and death.ResultsCompared with non-COVID-19 HCW, COVID-19 HCW were more likely to be male (41.3% vs. 30.7%) and younger (36.91 ± 8.81 vs. 43.14 ± 11.35 years). COVID-19 HCW reported higher prevalence of sleep difficulties: 63% vs. 50.7% in the non-COVID group (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.15-2.29, p = 0.006), mostly difficulty maintaining sleep: 26.5% vs. 18.5% (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.11-2.44, p = 0.012). Negative COVID-19 work-related experiences, specifically witnessing patient physical suffering and death, partially explained the association. Although past psychological problems and current depression and PTSD were associated with difficulty maintaining sleep, the main association remained robust also after controlling for those conditions in the full model.Conclusion and relevanceCOVID-19 frontline HCW were more likely to report sleep difficulties, mainly difficulty maintaining sleep, as compared with non-COVID-19 HCW working at the same hospital. Negative patient-care related experiences likely mediated the increased probability for those difficulties. Future research is needed to elucidate the long-term trajectories of sleep difficulties among HCW during large scale outbreaks, and to identify risk factors for their persistence.

Project description:Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a significant health threat. Health care worker (HCWs) are at a significant risk of infection which may cause high levels of psychological distress. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 on HCWs and factors which were associated with these stresses during the first outbreak in Shanghai. Methods: Between February 9 and 21, 2020, a total of 3,114 frontline HCWs from 26 hospitals in Shanghai completed an online survey. The questionnaire included questions on their sociodemographic characteristics, 15 stress-related questions, and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Exploratory factor analysis was applied to the 15 stress-related questions which produced four distinct factors for evaluation. Multiple linear regression models were performed to explore the association of personal characteristics with each score of the four factors. Binary logistic analysis was used to explain the association of personal characteristics and these four factors with the GHQ-12. Results: There were 2,691 valid surveys received. The prevalence of emotional distress (defined as GHQ-12 ≥ 12) was noted in 47.7% (95%CI:45.7-49.6%) HCWs. Females (OR = 1.43, 95%CI:1.09-1.86) were more likely to have a psychological distress than males. However, HCWs who work in secondary hospitals (OR = 0.71, 95% CI:0.58-0.87) or had a no contact history (OR = 0.45, 95%CI: 0.35-0.58) were less likely to suffer psychological distress. HCWs who were nurses, married, and had a known contact history were highly likely to have anxiety. HCWs working at tertiary hospitals felt an elevated anxiety regarding the infection, a lack of knowledge, and less protected compared to those who worked at secondary hospitals. Conclusions: Our study shows that the frontline HCWs had a significant psychosocial distress during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai. HCWs felt a lack of knowledge and had feelings of being not protected. It is necessary for hospitals and governments to provide additional trainings and psychological counseling to support the first-line HCWs.

Dataset Information

Addressing the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: learning from a systematic review of early interventions for frontline responders.

Objectives

Design and outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Addressing the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: learning from a systematic review of early interventions for frontline responders.

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